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Actually my issue with today is different. Amateurs aren’t allowed to ride in the Grand National are they?
So it’s strange to me that the powers that be would let 18 of them take a horse round Cheltenham for 4 miles.The riders in the Maryland Hunt Cup are required to be amateurs, and that’s often considered the most difficult race in America. Even amateur riders ought to be able to compete on a big stage-after all, isn’t that what they’ll be doing when they become professionals? I can’t excuse Katie Walsh just because she’s young and inexperienced.
That is a list of undefeated horses not all time greats. I’m sorry Mrs W but we clearly disagree when it comes to your comment "Going 15 for 15 at a G1 level, no matter who she has beaten, is to me more impressive than going 7 for 7". To me quantity will never surpass quality as a benchmark.
All of the horses on that list, with the exception of the much-maligned Pepper’s Pride, are considered all-time greats as well. Zenyatta’s owners ran a wimpy campaign last year, and I wish she’d face tougher competition more often, but it is clear that she’s among the greatest racemares ever. You can tell just by watching her.
Trouble is she is not into pet distances or pet weights
Even your first line doesn’t make sense. If Zenyatta "is not into pet distances" then why does she run at 9f almost every single start? Have you been on an all nighter Andy? You’re forgivven.
Because that’s all we have. Seriously, there are very, very few 10f+ G1 races on dirt (or synth, which is the only option in California) in this country, and none for older mares. Besides, she won at 8.5f 8 times, and 10f in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
She really is some machine. Seems to go through them effortlessly.
Where do people in the States place her against the likes of Secretariat, etc? Where is she on the all-time list?
Not even the best mare (that honor goes to Miss Woodford herself, who won 16 in a row and beat the best of both sexes at up to 2 1/2 miles). She’s certainly the best American racehorse of the 21st century, but she’d be hard-pressed to beat the 20th century legends.
How is Zenyatta unique? Her racing pattern is just the same as Zarkava’s and Zenyatta has beaten the males as many times. I still have Zarkava ahead on class. Such a shame we didn’t get at least one more season from her. I reckon that race caller would get excited about dropping the spoon while eating his corn flakes.
Zenyatta had that lot covered by a lot of poundage. Without the traffic she rounds them up in about 3-4 strides. Yes she did win a very average Breeders Classic. I don’t rate her too highly on all time lists. She’s an outstanding mare regardless of where her place in history stands.
I don’t think Zenyatta has ever beaten a world class animal at their pet distance as easily as Zarkava beat Goldikova ( seven Gr1 mile wins since then ) over a mile. It’s most unlikely that she will.
Going 15 for 15 at a G1 level, no matter who she has beaten, is to me more impressive than going 7 for 7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_un … racehorses
54 Kincsem Hungary Ch.f. 1874 Cambuscan (GB) x Water Nymph by Cotswold[2]
19 Peppers Pride United States B.f. 2003 Desert God x Lady Pepper by Chili Pepper Pie [3]
18 Eclipse Great Britain Ch.c. 1764 Marske x Spilletta by Regulus[4][5][6]
16 Ormonde Great Britain B.c. 1883 Bend Or x Lily Agnes by Macaroni[7][8]
16 Ribot Great Britain B.c. 1952 Tenerani (ITY) x Romanella (ITY) by El Greco[9]
15 Colin United States Br.c. 1905 Commando x Pastorella (GB) by Springfield [10]15[11] Zenyatta United States B/br.f. 2004 Street Cry (IRE) x Vertigineux by Kris S.
14[12] Highflyer Great Britain B.c. 1774 Herod x Rachel by Blank x 1751 mare by Regulus[13]
14 Nearco Italy Br.c. 1935 Pharos (GB) x Nogara by Havresac II (FR)
13 Barcaldine Great Britain B.c. 1878 Solon x Ballyroe by BelladrumZarkava isn’t even in the top 25 on the list.
Zenyatta has raced over multiple seasons, with a come-from-behind style that is rarely this successful in non-turf races. She has won on many synthetic surfaces (Tapeta, ProRide, cushion track, whatever the heck Del Mar is made of) and on dirt. Note that very few horses that are good at Santa Anita are equally good at Del Mar or Hollywood, and vice versa, because the surfaces are so different.
Furthermore, Zenyatta has star quality. Her dancing, her physical presence (she’s huge!), the way she wins so effortlessly, these endear her to so many US fans. You have to remember that racing over here has far less of a national profile than in the UK. For a racehorse to even be mentioned on ESPN, or to be given more than a few sentences in a newspaper, is extremely rare. For a horse who isn’t involved in the Triple Crown to be given such coverage is practically unheard of. With every win Zenyatta gets more and more press and draws in more fans to racing.
No horse in training right now, any surface, any country, can beat her in a route race.
What is a "route race"? I don’t think we have them here.
A route is greater than one mile in distance. Compare to a sprint (less than one mile).
Thanks to the rain we received yesterday, Airlie was soaked, and most of the horses were scratched from the first p2p of the season. Of the five races over fences, two were match races and three were walkovers
. Notably, Carl Rafter won every race he was in, and Jamey Price won his first start over fences.Asmussen has been saying all week that Rachel was only 80% ready for this race, and she is being rushed to get to the Apple Blossom. I hope she got something out of this race, but she really needs to be much, much better to match big Z.
Zenyatta was SPECTACULAR today. Mike Smith knew she would bully her way to the front, and she was not given a single tap with the whip. She looks bigger and better than last year, her ears were up the whole way round, she easily could’ve gone another mile. No horse in training right now, any surface, any country, can beat her in a route race.
A familiar name to us brits in the jockeys’ list there,Carl Rafter who used to be based with Charlie Mann.
Wonder if that’s the same Bow Strada that ran in the UK for the Hobbs team a few years’ back.
It certainly is! He’s 13 now and has been running in the US since 2005, with some success. He was 2nd in the 2007 Georgia Cup Hurdle.
Gosh I din’t know that pointing was alive and well and happening across the pond!!! Please – would love some more info – how many meetings, where does it happen in USA?
Point-to-points are all over the East Coast from Florida up to New York, and some in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. Most of these are not NSA sanctioned, but chasers often alternate between the NSA races and pointing.
The websites for pointing in Virginia http://www.centralentryoffice.com/ and Maryland http://www.marylandsteeplechasing.com/ and Pennsylvania http://www.dvaptp.com/
Another interesting horse in the Warrenton entries is the 13yo Westbound Road, who’s a half-brother to Fantastic Light! Apparently he raced several times on the flat in France and England before coming to the US to become a jumper.
The first point-to-point of the year in the US is this Saturday! It’s at Airlie in Warrenton, VA, and there’s a few names that some of you might recognize. http://www.centralentryoffice.com/Annua … rnight.pdf Bow Strada, Music To My Ears, and Kilbreena were hard-knocking handicapchasers in ancient history. Spy in the Sky, winner of the G1 NY Turf Writer’s Handicap last year, is starting the season with a novice flat race as a tune-up. Note that many horses are crossed entered, and several will scratch or switch riders closer to raceday. Some races will have to be combined or split.
The huge snowstorms last month have wreaked havoc on the whole jumps schedule, but I think overall it’ll be a nice year.Unfortunately the Gotham doesn’t have the best record when it comes to producing KY Derby winners-the last Gotham winner to win the Derby was Easy Goer, and before that Secretariat. We’ll see how Awesome Act stacks up with a halfway decent field in the Wood.
Hurdles-
Mixed Up
, handy old gelding who keeps improving.
Race Record in NA/US
2001 2 0 0 0 $300
2002 4 1 0 1 $12,200
2003 6 1 0 1 $24,200
2004 8 4 0 1 $74,456
2005 5 3 0 2 $75,995
2006 7 3 2 1 $204,900
2007 6 2 0 0 $159,215
2008 2 0 0 1 $12,500
2009 8 4 1 1 $184,495
Totals 48 18 3 8 $748,261 (SSI=3.55)
2009 Champion Steeplechase Horse
2004 1st Capital City Handicap [OR] ($24,540, PEN) $40,900
2005 1st National Hunt Cup Hurdle S. [N] ($45,000, MAL) $75,000
2006 1st New York Turf Writers Cup Stp. Hcp. [N] ($95,400, SAR) $159,000
2006 1st Marcellus Frost Hurdle S. [N] ($30,000, PW) $50,000
2007 1st Royal Chase For The Sport Of Kings [N] ($95,475, KEE) $159,125
2007 1st A. P. Smithwick Memorial Stp. S. [N] ($50,940, SAR) $84,900
2009 1st A. P. Smithwick Memorial Stp. S. [N] ($63,540, SAR) $102,723
2009 1st Colonial Cup Hurdle S. [N] ($60,000, CAM) $100,000
2006 2nd Georgia Cup Hurdle S. [N] ($13,500, ATH) $72,750
2006 2nd Somerset Medical Center Hurdle Hcp. [N] ($13,500, MED) $72,750
2009 2nd David L. (Zeke) Ferguson Mem. Hdl. [N] ($9,711, CNL) $53,950
2005 3rd Meadow Brook Hurdle S. [N] ($8,035, BEL) $80,350
2005 3rd Flatterer Hurdle Handicap [N] ($5,500, PHA) $50,000
2006 3rd Breeders’ Cup Grand National Stp S. [N] ($15,000, FH) $204,500
2008 3rd Georgia Cup Hurdle S. [N] ($10,000, ATH) $100,000
2009 3rd Marcellus Frost Hurdle S. [N] ($5,000, PW) $46,500TIMBER!-
Bubble Economy
, a big fan favorite and a joy to watch.
Race Record in NA/US
2001 1 0 0 0 $0
2002 9 0 2 1 $18,390
2003 8 3 1 0 $31,950
2004 7 2 3 1 $60,560
2005 5 0 3 2 $27,000
2006 2 1 0 0 $22,500
2007 7 2 2 0 $44,400
2008 8 3 0 2 $110,250
2009 4 1 2 0 $34,500
Totals 51 12 13 6 $349,550 (SSI=2.11)
2004 1st Mason Houghland Memorial Timber S. [N] ($35,000, PW) $53,500
2006 1st Ski Roundtop Trophy Timber S. [N] ($15,000, SHW) $23,250
2007 1st Grand National Timber S. [N] ($21,000, GN) $35,000
2008 1st Virginia Gold Cup Timber S. [N] ($60,000, GRM) $100,000
2002 2nd Gladstone Hurdle S. [N] ($9,000, FH) $48,500
2005 2nd Mason Houghland Memorial Timber S. [N] ($9,000, PW) $48,500
2005 2nd New Jersey Hunt Cup Timber S. [N] ($9,000, FH) $46,500
2005 2nd Pennsylvania Hunt Cup Stp. S. [N] ($4,500, UNI) $24,250
2007 2nd My Lady’s Manor Timber S. [N] ($5,400, MON) $30,000
2007 2nd Ski Roundtop Trophy Timber S. [N] ($6,000, SHW) $26,500
2009 2nd Virginia Gold Cup Timber S. [N] ($13,500, GRM) $72,750
2009 2nd International Gold Cup Timber S. [N] ($9,000, GRM) $50,000
2005 3rd Genesee Valley Hunt Cup Timber S. [N] ($2,500, GV) $22,000
2006 3rd New Jersey Hunt Cup Timber S. [N] ($7,500, FH) $66,000
2008 3rd Grand National Timber S. [N] ($3,500, GN) $33,950
2008 3rd My Lady’s Manor Timber S. [N] ($3,000, MON) $30,000
2003 Ncr Cnl Abt15.00f 3 23 4 (T)Flat-
Star Guitar
, the king of Louisiana.
Race Record in US
2007 2 2 0 0 $84,000
2008 3 2 0 1 $92,000
2009 9 7 0 1 $532,358
2010 1 1 0 0 $120,000
Totals 15 12 0 2 $828,458 (SSI=20.78)
2007 1st Louisiana Champ Day Juvenile S. [OR] ($60,000, FG) $100,000
2008 1st Louisiana Champ Day Sprint S. [OR] ($60,000, FG) $100,000
2009 1st La. Premier Night Championship S [OR] ($120,000, DED) $200,000
2009 1st La. Champions Day Classic S. [OR] ($90,000, FG) $150,000
2009 1st Evangeline Mile H. [L] ($90,000, EVD) $148,500
2009 1st Delta Gold Cup S. [OR] ($60,000, DED) $100,000
2009 1st Louisiana Cup Turf Classic S. [OR] ($60,000, LAD) $100,000
2009 1st Pola Benoit Memorial S. [OR] ($60,000, EVD) $96,000
2009 1st Dixie Poker Ace S. [OR] ($36,000, FG) $60,000
2010 1st Premier Night Championship S. [OR] ($120,000, DED) $200,000
2009 3rd Alysheba S. [G3] ($170,400, CD)Baltimore isn’t actually like that, at least most of it.
Nothing like Detroit. Excellent show, though.As I said previously, I believe Nina is the best female jockey we’ve ever seen over jumps. However, I’d probably put at least 15 male jockeys in front of her. I do rate "Head" Turner in my top 10 flat jockeys.
Danielle Hodson was the leading steeplecchase jockey in the US by earnings last season, and ranked 4th by races won. She’s been riding for a little while now, and has gotten better and better every year. I’d put her among the top jump jockeys in the world right now of either gender.
http://www.tvg.com
http://www.youbet.net
http://www.xpressbet.com
http://www.twinspires.com
are the big ones. The National Steeplechase Association launched http://www.jump2bet.com last fall, which I highly recommend.Acouple more points just to be clear :
a) I am not ante immigration. I believe in immigration but limmitted and controlled immigration. It is out of control now.
b) I have nothing against Islam as a way of life. People are entitled to live by whatever they believe and if people want to live by the laws of Islam that is upto them. However you cannot have Western freedom and Islam side by side because there have to be laws and Islam and Western freedom are incompatible.
Turkey seems to have figured it out.
